To many of us this may not be a consideration, and, heck, it probably never crossed our minds, but consider this:
If you encounter someone with light skin wearing a face mask in a store, on the street, or anywhere we might have to go even in this time of self isolation, we would probably just go on about our business, but if a darker person, perhaps male, and who, just like us is suffering from certain fashion denials like barbers, wearing a face mask, we just might give them a second look and an exaggerated version of social distancing.
When I asked friends if there was a local requirement to wear masks when leaving the house since I needed to go to the pharmacy after which I intended to get a bandana to make one, a number of friends made such suggestions as using a scarf, pulling my t-shirt up to cover my nose and mouth, things like that.
But if I were black, would those options be allowed without anyone acting differently?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending we all wear masks when going out, but considering the lack of ready-made ones at hospitals, with EMTs, and first responders, the most likely mask any of us will be able to wear would be a homemade one.
Not all of us sew, which means some will need to improvise.
Wearing a homemade mask might seem like a reasonable response, but some people, especially those that are traditionally demonized through racial stereotyping might look threatening to those who are inclined to view them that way.
Hoodies were excuses enough to shoot at or report someone to the police. Imagine how much more wearing a mask will become the excuse.
The color of bandanas are often associated with gang affiliation and violence, and as a middle and high school teacher I have seen innocent students approached by law enforcement and school personnel for having a bandana sticking out of a pocket with no meaning to it other than the kid uses it as a handkerchief.
In my past, colored bandanas were used in the Knights of Columbus ceremony that welcomed those too young to be full members into the organization as Squires, pre-knighthood.
As a Gay man, although it was not my thing and was dying out anyway as we saw we as a people could be more open in the general population, what color bandana and which back pants pocket it hung out of signaled those in the know what sexual activities you preferred in the days before things like Grindr and equality.
I’m White, so the only thing I need to be aware of when I leave the house is whether or not I am dressed appropriate to where I am going, and if my fly is zipped.
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Many reading this are probably aware of the video that compares a White man walking down the street carrying a weapon openly to a Black man walking the same streets with the same weapon.
We are also aware of the times law enforcement have shot a Black man almost reflexively, while under similar circumstances a White man was spoken to and given the time to decide to comply or not.
.
There is a recent video of US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams showing how to turn a bandana, scarf or old T-shirt into a mask.
He has also admitted,
“Health equity, and the complex interactions between race and health, have always been an area of emphasis for my office. I understand the concerns communities of color would have about being racially profiled, and am working with the NAACP, the NMA, and other organizations representing people of color to ensure no one is unduly harmed by COVID-19, or our response to it.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia’s Executive Director, Andrea Young, characterized the CDC’s mask guidance as “one more instance of racial insensitivity that pervades the response to this pandemic.
“To date, neither federal nor Georgia state officials are addressing the racial disparities in access to healthcare, access to the internet and the ability to work from home. Black Americans are suffering disproportionately from this pandemic.”
Government data shows the COVID-19 is more concentrated in major US metropolitan areas like New York City and in the Southeast where greater percentages of African Americans and Latinos live and who are less likely to be able to work from home. ,
The federal mask guidelines seem to miss this reality.
If a Person of Color takes what others may see as a simple act of putting on a mask, they may face danger from others who attach a threat to their look, and in states with concealed and open carry laws the perception of a threat is an acceptable reason to shoot to “stand your ground.
If that same person wants to avoid that problem, they are more exposed than others to the virus since their only option is not wearing a mask.
With my new homemade mask, when I later ran into a store, my only concern was whether or not they had toilet paper not how people would perceive me and to what that perception could lead.
Did I mention I’m White?